Binh Duong expects trade surplus

The southern province
of Binh Duong is expecting to post a trade surplus of 2.86 billion
USD in 2013, according to the provincial People's Committee.

By the year-end, Binh Duong, one of the country’s biggest economic hubs,
hopes to gain an export value of over 14.44 billion USD, up 15.7
percent annually, with the foreign-invested sector making up 81.3
percent of the total.

Its imports are forecast to reach 11.58
billion USD, with raw materials for production as well as machinery and
equipment adding to a year-on-year increase of 16.5 percent.

The head of the Binh Duong Importers and Exporters Club, Pham Van Xo,
said the club's 156 members had all signed export contracts until the
end of the year, and the apparel, leather and footwear industries had
received large orders for cheap, high quality goods.

This year, local leather and footwear enterprises had been producing
good designs and applying modern technology in production and management
to reduce risks, he said.

Binh Duong Department of Industry
and Trade revealed that the locality had exported 9 billion USD worth of
goods over the first nine months of this year, surging 15.6 percent
year-on-year.

Department Director Vo Van Cu attributed the
performance to stable foreign exchange rates and falling material prices
and interest rates, as well as recovering foreign markets such as the
US, the EU and Japan.

During the reviewed period, the
province's imports saw a yearly increase of 16.5 percent to 7.8 billion
USD, resulting in a trade surplus of 1.2 billion USD.-VNA